


Fourteen Hours

by Time_Traveling_Person



Series: The Hours [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Did I Mention Angst?, F/F, I hope you like angst, Twelve Hours sequel, alternative universe - no powers, set 5 years later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-01
Packaged: 2019-04-30 19:23:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14503818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Time_Traveling_Person/pseuds/Time_Traveling_Person
Summary: Kara and Lena have broken up. But with some meddling from Alex, they're forced together to work everything out once and for all.





	Fourteen Hours

**Author's Note:**

> This is a sequel to Twelve Hours, set five years later. It can also be read on its own if you don't feel like reading the first. Cheers!

There had been very few times in Lena’s life where she felt completely and utterly heartbroken. Where it felt as though her heart was being ripped open right under the surface of her chest. Where it felt like the world was falling apart all around her. Times she couldn’t imagine that such agony could be possible.

This was one of those times.

“I’m sorry, Lucy,” Lena said, nearly breaking her phone with how hard her hand was squeezing it, “can you repeat that?” She had heard her loud and clear, but it just couldn’t be real.

“Adam Grant asked Kara out.”

Her heart shattered all over again.

“Cat Grant’s son?” She tried her best to keep her voice from coming off as pathetically broken. But it seemed to be pointless because Lucy was sounding more sympathetic in her tone.

“I’m sorry, Lena,” her friend said. “But I just thought I should tell you before you found out from someone else.”

“I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“Do you want to—”

“I actually have to go.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

Lena nodded. “Of course. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.”

Lena hung up the phone and threw it on the couch. She suddenly found it extremely difficult to breathe and quickly sat down.

_It’s only been a week,_ she thought to herself. She knew Kara would eventually move on, but a _fucking_ week?

She dropped her head into her hands and willed herself to calm down. With everything that’s been going on, she’s kept it together, and she’s not breaking now. She refused to break.

After several minutes, she lifted her head with a sigh and took another deep breath. She had to accept this and power through. She could get through this. She just had to push it aside for the moment.

Knowing there was no way she was going to be productive for the day, she grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She needed a distraction. The first thing that came up was a news channel.

_“It’s been nearly two weeks since domestic terrorist Lex Luthor escaped from prison, and authorities—”_

Lena promptly turned it back off. She dropped her head onto the back of the couch and stared up at the ceiling and thought about what a clusterfuck her life was.

Her phone began ringing beside her. She groaned loudly at the sound of the damn thing. She glanced down to see if it was worth picking up, but her hand couldn’t move fast enough to snatch it up when she saw who it was.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hey, Lena.”

“Alex, hi.” She moved to the edge of the couch with worry. She hadn’t heard from Kara’s sister at all in the past week. “What’s wrong? Is Kara okay?”

“Kara’s fine,” Alex said. “Lucy said you needed to come by and get your stuff?”

“Oh.” Of course that’s all she was calling for. “Um, yes I do. But—”

“I know… you’d rather not do it when Kara’s here,” Alex finished for her. Lena shifted awkwardly and didn’t respond. “Her and I are going out to dinner tonight, so we won’t be here.”

“Tonight?”

“Yeah. Just use your key to get in. We’re leaving before six.”

“Okay. I guess I’ll go by at six, then.”

“Great.”

There’s more awkward silence. Lena is almost too afraid to ask, but she can’t help herself. “Does Kara know I’m going by?”

“I haven’t told her. Do you want me to?”

“No!” she said nearly shouted, but quickly backtracked. “I mean, it’s fine if you want to. I don’t want you to keep secrets from your sister.”

Alex laughed. “Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“Okay.”

Lena bit her lip as she waited for Alex to speak, but all she heard on the other end was a heavy sigh. It sounded as if she was conflicted over saying something.

“Take care, Luthor.”

It sounded like goodbye. And it hit Lena all over again that she was losing Alex too.

“Yeah, you too,” she choked out. If Alex knew she was on the verge of tears, she would surely give her one last round of shit for it.

“See you around.”

The line went silent.

* * *

Lena showed up at Kara and Alex’s apartment at six o’clock sharp, empty box in hand. She hesitated at the door, worried at the possibility of them still being home. She raised a hand and knocked a few times and waited. A full minute passed and she still couldn’t hear anybody inside. So with a shaky breath, she took out her key and unlocked the door.

She poked her head inside and called out, “Hello?” Once again, no answer.

As soon as she was convinced that she was definitely the only person in the apartment, she let herself inside and closed the door. She walked to the dining room table with the key held tightly in her hand. She looked down at it one last time and set it on the table, lightly running her fingertip over the small piece of metal. She then sighed and took the box with her to Kara’s bedroom.

She turned on the light to find that it looked exactly the same as it always did, not that Lena expected otherwise. Her National City University diploma hung framed on the wall, next to that ridiculous NSYNC poster, _‘signed by JT himself,’_ as Kara would say.

Lena sat down on the bed as she took everything in. She wanted to remember every single detail about this room.

She noticed a framed picture sat on Kara’s dresser. She had seen that particular picture thousands of times, but she still found herself standing to pick it up and gaze down at the photograph. It was taken during their first summer together, right before they moved to National City. They were at the beach, leaning into each other as they stared out at the ocean. Neither of them knew Alex had taken the picture until later. They had only been dating for a few months at that point in time, but Lena remembered just how in love she was with Kara even then.

She sighed and put it back on the dresser. She knew she couldn’t stay in there all night, so she got to work gathering all the things that belonged to her. It wasn’t an easy task as Kara wasn’t exactly the most organized person at times, but Lena did her best. It was mostly some books, DVDs, and clothes.

She opened one of Kara’s drawers to find her old Jurassic Park t-shirt. It was always her favorite shirt, but it also happened to be Kara’s favorite thing to wear of Lena’s. She sat on the floor and stared at it as she contemplated leaving it with Kara instead.

She suddenly heard the sound of a lock turning and froze. When the front door could be heard opening, it confirmed to her that someone had just walked in. She looked down at her watch with a frown. There was no way they could be back from dinner already.

The sound of footsteps in the living room became louder as they grew closer. Lena got off the floor in a panic. There had to be some logical explanation for this.

_Maybe Alex forgot something? Or maybe Maggie just came by?_

“Hello?” she called. The footsteps stopped immediately, and Lena received no answer. “Alex? Is that you?”

She opened the bedroom door and stepped out, only to have the wind knocked out of her at the sight of Kara, who seemed just as surprised, standing right before her.

“Kara?” she nearly screeched.

“Lena?” Kara actually did screech.

“What are you doing here?”

“I live here. What are _you_ doing here?”

“I—just—um—shit—I… my stuff!” She pointed to Kara’s room, but then frowned as she pointed at Kara herself. “But—you—what?” She wasn’t making any damn sense and she knew it. “Alex! Dinner!”

“I just got back from dinner,” Kara explained, still vastly confused. “Alex just dropped me off and went to the store.”

Lena blinked several times. “I had to come get my stuff. Alex told me to come by at six.”

Something flickered in Kara’s eyes. “She did?”

Lena nodded, but then it finally dawned on her. “She set this up, didn’t she?”

“It seems that way,” Kara said softly, before her eyes widened at Lena. “I swear I had no idea!”

Lena placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head back with a humorless laugh. She was probably the biggest idiot in the entire universe at that moment. Of course Alex would do this.

She looked back at Kara. “Well I have everything and I was just leaving. So—”

“Hang on!” Kara said. “Can you stay for a little while? So we can talk?”

“Talk?” Lena struggled to keep her voice from squeaking.

Kara nodded. “Please, Lena? I just… I don’t know. I really think we should talk to clear the air, or get some closure, or something. This doesn’t feel right.”

Lena swallowed. She wasn’t prepared for this at all. She knew she would face Kara again sooner or later, but not this much sooner. And she also knew that she was going to kill Alex if she ever saw her again. But she was here now, and she doesn’t have it in her to deny Kara.

“Okay,” she said. “Do you mind if I use the bathroom?”

As soon as Lena agreed, Kara smiled. “Not at all. I’ll be right here.”

Lena gave a terse nod before rushing off to the bathroom and locking herself in. She walked right into the sink, too distracted to even notice it.

Kara was there. The same girl that she had spent the past five years with. The girl whose heart she had broken only a week before.

Lena looked into the mirror and exhaled slowly. She owed this to Kara. It was the least she could do.

Taking one last breath, she nodded to herself and opened the door. She came out to find Kara sitting at the table, waiting for her. Her back was straighter than usual, and her hands were tightly clasped together on the table surface.

Lena sat on the opposite side and smiled, trying not to let the moment become awkward. “Hello,” she said politely while internally cringing.

“How’ve you been?” Kara asked.

“Fine.” Lena cleared her throat. “And you?”

“I’ve been alright.”

“That’s good.”

Lena wondered how long they were going to respond with sentences shorter than five words. For a few moments it was so quiet that she could hear the ticking of her watch.

“How have your classes been?” Kara finally said.

“I haven’t gone back to class yet. There’s still some media hounds lurking around. Or at least that’s what Jack said earlier.”

Kara gave her a sympathetic smile.

“And how have you been? How’s work going?” Lena asked.

“It’s the same as it’s always been. Cat still treats me like the lowly assistant that I am,” Kara answered with a chuckle.

Lena felt herself tense up at the mention of Cat Grant. She desperately wanted to hear it from Kara herself to see if it was true. She just had to casually bring it up in the conversation somehow.

“I heard her son asked you out,” she blurted. _Smooth._

Kara’s brow furrowed as her mouth dropped open. “How did you even hear about that?”

“Never mind. I’m sorry,” Lena said quickly, completely embarrassed. She angled herself away, briefly considering making a run for the front door.

“Lena—”

“Just forget I even brought it up. I don’t—”

“I turned Adam down.”

She paused and looked back at Kara. “You did?”

“Of course I did.”

A sense of relief coursed through Lena, even though she had no right to feel anything about this.

“It’s none of my business anyway,” she found herself saying.

Kara frowned at her. “Seriously, Lena?”

“It’s not like you aren’t allowed to date whomever you want.”

“Do you not know me at all? You really think that I would move on just like that?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I just heard he asked you out and that’s all.”

“How could I start seeing someone else? I’m still in love with you!” Kara snapped.

And there it was, the topic that they managed to avoid for all of five minutes.

Lena quickly shut her mouth. “Okay,” she spoke softly, not knowing what else to say.

Kara stared at her with a mixture of anger and confusion, a fire building behind her eyes.

“This is ridiculous.”

Lena blinked in surprise. “What?”

“It’s ridiculous that we’re not together.”

“Kara,” Lena said with a sigh, “can we not do this now?”

“No, this is happening.”

“I didn’t want to do this, and you know that. I just want to protect you.”

Kara was having none of it. “This isn’t fair, Lena. You can’t just throw everything between us away just like that.”

“Throw it away? You think it was that simple? You think it was easy for me?”

“I don’t know what to think. But you can’t just give up on us like that!”

“This wasn’t me just giving up, Kara! The world will always be watching me, and I can’t change that. If you think it’s bad now, it’s going to get worse in the future. Everyone is always going to judge me and tear me apart, and I’m fine with that. I’ve accepted that that’s going to be my life. But I can’t have that for you.”

“I’ve been by your side for five years now. I always knew what I was getting into and nothing was ever going to change my mind.”

“Kara, you just don’t understand.”

“Then help me understand!” Kara cried. “Just tell me everything that’s going on in your head! I want to know and you’re not letting me in this time!” She stood and wiped at her eyes while Lena flinched at the harsh sound of the chair scraping across the floor. “Don’t I get a say in all of this?”

“I never meant to make you think that you don’t. I’m just trying to protect—”

Kara scoffed and turned to walk away. She was upset, and Lena knew it was best to give her space when she was like this. So she quietly stood and took a step towards the bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Kara asked.

Lena whirled around in surprise. “I was just going to get my—”

“Sit down.” It sounded like more of a scold as Kara pointed to the couch.

Lena nodded and quickly did as she was told with her eyes glued to the floor. Kara perched herself at the end of the coffee table in front of Lena and stared down at her with crossed arms. Lena couldn’t bring herself to make eye contact, so she fidgeted with her hands, something she always did when she was nervous.

After what seemed like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, Kara finally spoke, “Where have you been staying?”

Lena looked up at her with confusion. “What?”

“I went to your apartment a couple times, but you weren’t there.” Kara gave her a wounded look. “Have you been hiding from me?”

“No, I haven’t been hiding from you. Someone at the press found my address and a few of them have been camping out at my building,” she explained. “My family owns a condo here downtown, and it’s not listed under the Luthor name, so I’ve been staying there.”

“I’ve never heard of this condo?”

“I never took you or anybody there. I suppose it was only for emergencies. My mother told me to stay there for the time being because she was concerned for my safety.” Lena lifted an eyebrow as she recalled the memory.

“Really? She said that?” Kara was no longer looking at Lena like she wanted to bang her head against the floor. She knew all about Lena’s troubled relationship with Lillian Luthor.

“I was just as surprised as you are,” Lena said. “It almost sounded like she cared. Almost.”

“When was the last time you talked to her?”

“Before all this? Is today Sunday?” Kara nodded. “Oh, well then about four months ago.”

Kara shook her head with a smile at Lena’s sarcastic humor. “I’ve been worried about you too. Lex has been the top story at CatCo.”

“No need to worry. I don’t think he’s planning on coming to National City.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“And I’m surprised Cat Grant hasn’t written a dozen hit pieces on me yet. Or helped fuel the rumors that I helped him escape.”

“You never gave Cat a chance,” Kara said in defense of her boss. “I’ve worked for her for almost a year now and I’ve told you a hundred times that she’s not as bad as she seems.”

“She’s a media whore, Kara. The ‘Queen of Media’. And she came up with that title herself.”

“She knows that you’re innocent in all of this. And she even defended you a couple times.”

“Oh my goodness. She defended a Luthor? Stop the press!”

“And she’s been nicer to me lately, just so you know!” Kara added. “She’s actually been calling me Kara these days.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “That’s because she’s hoping you’ll go out with her son.”

“You’re seriously still on that?”

“Maybe she wants a daughter-in-law that she can use as a permanent, life-long assistant.”

“That’s insane.”

“Just wait and see how nice she is to you when she finds out you said no.”

“I already told you I turned him down! Why are you still bringing it up?”

“I can’t help it. I’m sorry.” Lena clenched her jaw. “It reminds me of watching all those guys— no, all those _people_ flirt with you throughout college.”

“They did not!” Kara argued with a flushed face.

“Kara, please.” Lena sat back and crossed her own arms.

“Even if they did, I would never flirt back!”

“I know that. But it still drove me crazy to watch.”

“Yeah? Well you know what drives me crazy? Jack!”

Lena looked at her as if she actually was crazy. “Jack?” she asked incredulously. “My lab partner for the past two years? One of my only friends at school? That Jack?”

“Oh come on, Lena. He’s obviously in love with you.”

“Kara, that’s absurd. He’s just a friend.”

“He’s going to ask you out soon. And then you’re going to know that I was right. And then maybe I’ll hear about it. Then I’ll be the one to get upset over a stupid reason!”

“I would _not_ go out with Jack.”

“You say that now. But—”

Lena threw her hands up and stood. This whole conversation had turned completely counterproductive. She marched right for Kara’s bedroom.

“What are you doing now?” Kara asked as she trailed behind her.

Lena yanked the box full of her stuff off the floor and went back out for the front door. “I’m going home now.”

“Hang on,” Kara said as she took hold of the back of Lena’s shirt. “We’re not done here.”

Lena turned around and groaned. “Kara, please. We’ll talk later. I’m tired and I just want to go home.”

Kara let go of her. “This is so typical of you. You always do this.”

“Excuse me?” Lena tossed the box onto the floor. Everything might’ve fallen out, but she didn’t care. “What do I always do?”

Kara took a step closer. “You run away.”

“No I don’t!”

“Yes you do!”

Lena narrowed the space between them even more. “I’m not running away.”

Kara gestured her hand from Lena to the door. “You literally are. You run away when things are too much for you to handle, and then you pretend like everything is fine.”

Lena looked away, annoyed that Kara knew her so well.

“And now you’re thinking about how well I know you.”

“Get out of my head!”

“Just admit that I’m right!”

“No!”

They were in each other’s personal space at that point, but Lena wasn’t backing down. She brought her hands up, but didn’t know what to do with them, so she squeezed them in frustration and turned around. But when Kara grabbed her shoulder, she turned back and then suddenly they were kissing.

It happened so fast that it was hard to tell who initiated it. They probably somehow both did. Lena would have to figure that out later. But the point was that they started and who knows if they would stop.

The kiss was passionate, which was far from new to them. But it was also angry and full of frustration, things that were rare between them in the past. Their arguing wasn’t the only reason Lena was frustrated. She also had missed Kara so much all week that it was driving her insane.

They broke apart as soon as they realized what they were doing. Kara stared at her in shock, but the love was still in her eyes. Lena felt herself shaking.

She cupped Lena’s face softly. “Lena…”

They were kissing again. Lena gripped Kara’s sides and started moving her backwards towards the couch. Without separating, Kara fell back onto it and pulled Lena on top of her.

In the back of her mind, Lena knew that this was a bad idea. They were both pissed off, and it would only complicate things further if they slept together. But she was never able to think straight with Kara’s mouth on hers, so any thoughts of consequences were swept aside.

She sat up and grabbed the hem of Kara’s sweater, tugging on it. Kara lifted herself up and helped pull it off of herself before tossing it carelessly to the side.

But before they were able to go any further, the sound of a door slowly creaking open followed by a high-pitched squeak caught their attention. They both turned their heads to see a profusely blushing Alex at the front door, shielding her eyes with her hand.

“Looks like you guys made up. That’s great. I’ll just… leave you to it.”

“ _You._ ” Lena glared intensely at her.

Alex dropped her hand and her face quickly turned from light red to deathly pale as her eyes widened in horror. In a blink, the door was slammed shut and the sound of her footsteps running down the hallway could be heard.

Lena scrambled off of Kara and took off for the door, only to promptly trip over Kara’s sweater and land face-first on the hard floor.

“Fucking hell!” she shouted when she felt a sharp pain shoot through her knee. Shaking it off, she quickly got back on her feet.

“Lena, stop!”

She ignored Kara as she ran out into the hallway to find Alex at the elevator, punching the button repeatedly as if it would make the doors open any faster. If Lena wasn’t so angry, she would’ve laughed at the sight of the mighty Alex Danvers trembling in fear for once.

“Alex!” The doors opened and Alex slipped inside, pressing the button to close the doors.

“Stay away from me, Luthor!”

Lena managed to reach her arm in before the doors completely shut. But before she had a chance to step in and scream at Alex, a pair of arms wrapped around her torso from behind and yanked her back.

“Let go of me, Kara!” She flailed around, but Kara wasn’t letting up.

“Lena, you can’t just _murder_ Alex,” Kara gritted out as she struggled to hold Lena in place.

Lena stuck her arm in again and held onto the inside of the elevator wall to keep the doors from closing. Alex stayed glued to one of the back corners and out of reach.

“I am a federal agent! I’ll have you arrested!”

“You’ll be dead before backup gets here!”

“Lena, let go!”

All three continued shouting while a few neighbors had come out to see what was going on.

“There are people watching us now!” Kara hissed.

Lena could see them out of the corner of her eye. It wasn’t until one kid pulled their phone out to film them that she realized how crazy they all looked. The last thing she needed was a video like this showing up on TMZ.

She stopped struggling in Kara’s grip and took a breath. “Okay, stop. I’m good now,” she said to Kara. She then looked at Alex. “Get inside.”

She didn’t wait for a response as she turned around and marched back to the apartment, not without knocking the nosy teenager’s phone out of his hand along the way.

She went inside and waited with her arms crossed, watching as Kara walked in with a nervous-looking Alex in tow. The older Danvers sister took her time closing and locking the door before finally turning around to face them.

Lena glanced at Kara with an arched eyebrow. “Your sweater’s on backwards.”

Kara looked down at herself and blushed before running off to the bathroom.

“Why is your stuff all over the floor?” Alex asked as she looked around the apartment.

“You set this whole thing up!” Lena snapped. “Why would you do that?”

“I’m confused,” Alex said. “You should be thanking me. You’re back together, aren’t you?”

“No, we are _not_ back together.”

“Not _yet_ ,” Kara said as she returned with her sweater facing the right way.

Alex rolled her eyes at Lena. “Seriously? What is your deal?”

“This is none of your business.”

“We all know you’re going to work things out eventually. And Kara is my sister. So of course it’s my business.”

“Alex, you can’t just go meddling in my life like this. We’re not kids anymore. I can take care of myself.”

“You’ve been depressed and mopey all week. I had to do something!”

“I have not been mopey!”

“You wore your pajamas all day yesterday. And you ate two large pizzas by yourself! Even for you, that’s excessive.”

“I was hungry!”

“And let’s not forget how you were panicking because you didn’t know where that idiot was.”

“Hey, I’m standing right here!”

“Well how would you feel if you couldn’t find Maggie?”

“That’s not the point. I hadn’t seen you like that in years, Kara. It scared me. So I did something about it.”

“I get wanting to help me but not like this! Not when Lena doesn’t even want to see me!”

“It didn’t seem that way when I walked in!”

“What? No! That wasn’t—”

“What it looked like? Don’t be ridiculous. Of course Lena wanted to see you as much as you wanted to see her.”

“Again, I’m still standing right here!”

“I know. I can see you, Luthor! And if you _ever_ break my sister’s heart again, I’ll track you down and I’ll—”

“You’ll what? Cower away in the elevator again?”

“I swear if I had my gun on me right now…”

“Both of you stop it!”

“Lena started it when she started chasing me!”

“Grow up, Danvers.”

“Oh sorry. I forgot I was dealing with Miss Maturity herself over here. And it’s _Agent_ Danvers to you.”

“Really? You’re going to play the ‘agent’ card on me now?”

“Yes, because that’s how it is when you hurt Kara.”

“Alex, stop. It’s more complicated than that.”

“She broke up with you, Kara. It’s not that complicated.”

“Again, this is none of your business!”

“Shut up, Luthor!”

“Alex, give her a break. She’s going through a lot right now and you know that.”

By that point, there had been a lot of shouting, a lot of pointing, and possibly a couple shoves, but Lena had had enough.

“I need to sit down.” Her knee was still aching, so she hobbled her way back to the couch. Kara noticed and halted her spat with Alex to hurry to the freezer to grab an ice pack.

Lena rested her back against the arm of the couch and brought her legs up.

“Which one is it?” Kara asked as she rushed over.

“This one,” she pointed to her knee as Kara sat down with her and carefully placed the ice pack down.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Lena shook her head. “It’s just a little sore. I’ll live.” She closed her eyes and tried her best to tune out the disaster that was her life.

Kara reached up and softly ran her fingers from Lena’s forehead to her hair. “Did you hit your head too?”

“Probably. But your sister had already given me a monstrous headache, so I can’t really tell right now.”

“That was a hard fall.” Kara smiled.

“I’m sure you wish you had gotten it on video.”

“I really do, actually. Any chance of a reenactment?”

“Sorry. That was a once in a lifetime moment.”

Kara chuckled as she continued running her hand through Lena’s hair.

“Hey, the plan worked!”

They turned to see that Maggie had apparently walked into the apartment at some point. She beamed and held a hand up for Alex to high-five.

Alex left her hanging and shook her head. “They’re not back together.”

“What? Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Maggie looked at them with wide eyes and threw her hands up. “Are you kidding me?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Lena groaned and moved the ice pack from her knee to her head.

“Okay, both of you _out_ ,” Kara said as she got up and started ushering Maggie and Alex to the door.

“You’re kicking me out of my own apartment?” Alex said once they were out in the hallway.

“Stay over at Maggie’s,” Kara whispered so that Lena couldn’t hear. “Lena and I really need to talk.”

“It didn’t look like you were doing much talking earlier.”

“Alex!”

“I’m serious, Kara. Messing around is a bad idea! You need to work things out.”

“I’m trying too! But I can’t do that when you’re both here!”

Maggie started pulling Alex by the jacket. “She’s right. We need to give them some alone time.”

“Okay.” Alex sighed. “I only did this because I love you. And I love Lena too. You know that, right?”

“I know,” Kara said with a smile.

“Call me later, okay?”

She nodded. “I will.”

When they finally turned to leave, she went back in the apartment to find Lena still on the couch. She sat back down in the same spot she was before and continued the ministrations of soothingly running her fingers through Lena’s hair.

The air in the room was nowhere near as intense as it was before. They had both gotten all of their frustrations out and now they were simply drained.

“I love you,” Kara said softly.

“I know,” Lena answered with a sad smile.

“Then can you please tell me what’s really going on? I know this isn’t just about Lex or your mom. There’s other things you’re not telling me, and I want you to.”

“Kara, I’ve already said—”

“This isn’t just about your family. There’s more to it, and we both know it.”

Lena turned her head away and clenched her jaw. She whispered, “I’m just…” before trailing off.

“What?” Kara asked delicately.

“I’m so screwed up.” A few tears finally began to fall.

Kara wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in close. “You’re not,” she said firmly.

“I am. You know I am. You’ve been with me for five years and you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“I don’t think you’re screwed up, Lena.”

“That’s because you see the good in everyone.” She looked at Kara. “That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.”

“But this doesn’t have to be it for us. We can work through it like we always do. We can do anything together, remember?”

“Kara, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I don’t care what happens! I’ll never stop fighting for us. For _you_.”

“I’m not worth it,” Lena said brokenly. “You deserve better.”

“Only I get to decide that and I will always choose you.”

A phone began to ring loudly, cutting off whatever Lena was going to say in response. She sighed as she recognized the ringtone.

“It’s my mother,” she said as she pulled away from Kara. She got up, pulled her phone out of her pocket, and swiped the screen to answer while she took a few steps away from the couch.

“Mother,” she said as she cleared her throat and wiped the tears from her face.

“Lena?”

“Obviously it’s me since you just called me.” She’s not normally _this_ frank with Lillian, but she’s had an emotional evening, so she gives herself a pass.

She could hear her mother sigh loudly on the other end at the comment before getting right to the point. “Lex was captured.”

“What?” Lena’s eyes widened. “Where?”

“Just outside of Metropolis about twenty minutes ago. He doesn’t have any serious injuries. I don’t have all of the details yet, but I should by morning. And it’s only a matter of time before the media gets wind of this.”

Lena rolled her eyes at the thought of the news hounds following her around all over again. She glanced at Kara, who was staring at her with a frown.

“It would be wise for you to continue staying at the condo for the time being.”

“Yes I know.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’m not feeling well, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“I’ll let you know what I find out.” Before Lillian could hang up, she added, “Lena, it’s come to my attention that there’s a video with a crazy woman screaming at an elevator that’s starting to make its way around the internet. One of the assistants showed it to me because the woman looks a lot like you.”

Lena sucked in a breath. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“Lena—”

“Goodnight, mother!”

She quickly hung up the phone, deciding she could deal with that whole debacle later. She couldn’t handle anything else for the night.

“Is everything alright?” Kara asked.

Lena nodded and sat back down with her arms crossed. “They found Lex.”

“Is he—”

“He’s still alive,” she quickly added.

Kara seemed relieved. “That’s good.” She gave Lena a hesitant look. “How are you feeling?”

Leaning forward to take a breath, Lena said, “You know I’ve loved him since the moment the Luthors adopted me.”

“I know. You always said he was a great brother to you.”

Lena swallowed. “But after what he did, I had to accept that I had lost him forever. The Lex I knew is never coming back.”

Kara took her hand and pulled it into her lap the same way she always did when she comforted Lena.

“I’m okay,” Lena said.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. “Yes. It’s just been a long day.”

“I’ll say.”

Lena smiled and rested her head on Kara’s shoulder. They sat there in comfortable silence while Kara stroked her hand with her thumb in such a way that relaxed Lena like nothing else could.

“We should be together,” Kara said after several minutes. It didn’t sound like she was trying to start up the argument from earlier. It was more like she was thinking out loud.

Lena let herself enjoy the closeness for just a few seconds longer before she slowly lifted her head and moved to sit at the edge of the couch. She clasped her hands together as she stared down at them, deep in thought.

“There’s always going to be this darkness weighing my life down. It’ll always be there.” She took a deep breath. “I just don’t want to take you down with me.”

Kara didn’t respond. After a few moments, Lena turned her head to look at her. She looked sad, tired, and just overall defeated. She knew Kara wasn’t going to argue with her anymore.

“It’s getting late,” Lena said as she stood up. She slowly paced in front of the couch a few times. “I should be able to walk properly now,” she added lightly with a smile.

Kara stood up. “Can you stay a little while longer?”

“Kara, I need to get home. And you have work in the morning.”

“I know. But…” She struggled to find the words. “I’m scared this is the last time I’m ever going to see you.”

Lena finally understood. She reached up to touch Kara, but stopped herself. “It won’t be. I promise. Let’s try to be friends, okay? Once everything blows over? Would that be alright?”

Kara smiled at her. “You’re my best friend.”

Lena returned the smile.

She turned to find the box she brought on the floor—once again empty—with all of her things scattered around it. She bent down to collect everything with Kara quickly joining her to help.

“Okay,” she said as she stood back up, “I guess that’s everything.”

Kara nodded. “I guess so.”

“Um,” Lena suddenly felt awkward standing there., “I hope you have a good week at work.”

“I will. And I hope you… well I just hope you have a good week.”

“I’ll try. Goodnight, Kara.”

“Goodnight.”

Lena turned and opened the door and stepped out. She could feel Kara’s eyes on her as she made her way to the elevator. Once she was inside, she gave a small wave that Kara returned as the doors closed shut.

She had no idea what time it was, but the first thing she noticed once she got outside was that it was completely dark out. That was fine with her because it meant she was less likely to be recognized while out on the streets.

Luckily for her, the condo was only a few blocks away, so it only took her ten minutes to uneasily walk her way to the building with a sore knee. Nobody paid her any mind, but the entire time she had that familiar feeling that she was being followed. She was afraid that if she turned around a camera would go off in her face, so she kept looking straight ahead and marched on.

She let out a sigh of relief as she walked into the building, giving a half-smile to the doorman while he held open a door for her. She crossed the lobby and pressed the button to the elevator, patiently waiting for the doors to open.

From behind her, she heard the doorman say with a hesitant voice, “Um, can I help you, miss?” Another voice quickly shushing him could also be heard.

Lena frowned and turned around to see what was going on, only to find a woman that looked exactly like Kara hurrying around the corner of the wall and out of view.

She laughed to herself and walked over.

“Should I call the police, Miss Luthor?” the doorman asked her while keeping his gaze on Kara.

Lena rounded the corner and found that she was indeed correct when she saw a sheepish-looking Kara with her back pressed against the wall, as if that would keep her from being seen.

“No, that’s okay,” she said. “I know this one.”

“Hey…” Kara said.

“What are you doing?”

Kara pushed herself off the wall and sighed. “I swear I’m not stalking you or anything.”

“The evidence says otherwise.”

“I just wanted to make sure you got home safe. And I also kind of wanted to see where you were staying,” she mumbled.

“Now you know.” Lena heard the elevator ding. “Do you want to come up? You’re already here so you might as well.”

“Are you sure?”

Lena nodded. “Of course. Come on.” She made sure Kara followed as she hurried back to the elevator before the doors closed.

“Here, I’ll get that for you,” Kara said as she took the box from her.

“Thank you,” Lena said with a smile.

When they reached her floor, the elevator opened and they both made their way down the hallway.

“It’s super fancy,” Kara said as she took everything in.

Lena didn’t respond. She wasn’t all that crazy about the place. Everything about it just screamed Luthor.

When they got to her door, she typed a passcode on the keypad to unlock it. While she walked in and turned on the light, she heard Kara let out a quiet ‘whoa’ behind her.

She turned to her and pointed at the box and said, “You can leave that on the table, if you’d like.”

Kara nodded and placed it on the dining room table and then sat down in one of the chairs.

“How much longer are you staying here?”

“Hopefully not long. I really miss my apartment,” Lena said as she joined her.

“I miss it too.”

Caught off guard by the comment, Lena blinked, and she hoped Kara hadn’t noticed. “Would you like something to drink?” she offered.

“Sure. What do you have?”

“I think I have a bottle of that wine you like…” Lena trailed off as she headed for the kitchen. She looked inside the fridge to see that she did have that bottle of Kara’s favorite wine. With a shaky hand, she slowly poured two glasses before joining Kara back at the table.

“Thank you,” Kara said as she took a sip.

Lena nodded as she sipped at her own glass. It was quiet. Not quite awkward, but silent. One minute must’ve passed. Then two. And maybe three.

She could feel Kara watching her, but she kept her eyes glued to the surface of the table.

“You have work in the morning,” she said suddenly because it was all she could think of saying.

“I know.” Lena finally looked at her. “Relax, Lena. It’s not like its way past my bedtime.”

“I suppose.”

“I’m guessing you’re not going to class tomorrow?”

Lena sighed as she thought about class.

“What’s wrong?” Kara asked.

“I have a project that I need to finish this week.”

“Is it the one you’ve been complaining about all semester?”

“Yes. I finally got around to starting it.” She lowered her head and began rubbing her temples. “This round of finals is going to be a nightmare.”

“Only one more semester after this,” Kara began with a smile, “and then you’ll have your master’s. I’m so proud of you.”

Lena smiled back. “I don’t think I would’ve made it this far without you.”  
“That’s not true. You would’ve easily made it because you’re so smart and you can do anything.”

“No. I’m sure I would’ve gone crazy at some point.”

“You’ve always held it together.”

“Because you helped keep me grounded.”

Kara rolled her eyes, but still kept her smile. “I don’t think I would’ve been so happy all these years if you weren’t there.”

“That’s ridiculous. You are the literal embodiment of sunshine and happiness.”

“You always say that,” Kara answered with a laugh.

“Because it’s true.”

Kara took another sip of her wine with a thoughtful expression. She then swiftly moved from across the table to the seat right next to Lena. Lena was a little caught off guard, and the close proximity was making her even more nervous, but she didn’t pull away.

“After my parents died, I remember feeling so empty for a while.” It was nearly whispered.

“You’ve told me,” Lena said softly.

“I didn’t think I’d every really feel like a complete person again. You know? But then when I met you, everything changed.”

Lena swallowed, trying her best not to tear up. Kara had told her this many times before, but it was just so much harder to hear this time around.

“Do you remember the night we met?” Kara’s face lit up as she asked.

Lena chuckled. “How could I ever forget?”

“We had so much fun together, and we didn’t even know each other!” Kara’s voice was laced with excitement. “You just came with me on this little adventure.”

“You didn’t give me much of a choice in the whole thing.”

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding! You know that!” Lena smiled even wider. “But you have to admit, you basically kidnapped me.”

“It’s not kidnapping if you choose to come voluntarily.”

“That’s not how I remember it.”

Kara scoffed playfully and continued drinking her wine. “You clearly don’t have the best memory.”

“I resent that.”

“Whatever you say.”

Lena crossed her arms and smiled. “Why are you bringing up that night?”

Kara shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot these days.”

The smile suddenly disappeared from Lena’s face as the guilt came flooding back. “Kara, I’m—”

“No,” Kara interrupted, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I just remember how happy I was that night.” She smiled again at Lena. “Everything just made sense when I met you.”

“I get what you mean. Before we met, I was a complete mess.”

“I know.”

“Well you’re all out of filters tonight, aren’t you?”

“I just meant that I know you were going through a lot.”

“I was. I still am. It’ll probably be like that for the rest of my life.” Lena sighed as she dropped her hands back on the table. “But you still stayed when no one else would.”

“And I would do it again,” Kara said as she leaned closer, “and again a hundred times over.” She gently placed her hand over Lena’s.

“But why?” Lena asked with a broken voice.

“Because I love you.” Kara softly squeezed her hand. “God Lena, I love you so much. And I still believe we were always meant to be in each other’s lives.”

Lena stared down at their joined hands for a moment, letting the words course through her.

“Kara, I’m just so scared,” she whispered with nothing but honesty.

“I know you are. And that’s okay.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I don’t know how I’ve made such a fucking mess of everything. I don’t know how I turned into this… this _coward_. Maybe I’ve always been one.”

“You’re not a coward. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever met.”

“I’m not. Not like you.”

“I know it’s hard right now,” Kara wrapped her arms tight around Lena’s shoulders, “but I’ll be brave enough for the both of us if you’ll let me. We’re going to get through this. We can do anything together. I know we can.”

“How are you always so sure about everything in life?” Lena lifted her head to gaze at her.

“I’m not. The only thing I’m sure of is you.”

Lena couldn’t hold back any longer. The love she felt for the woman before her overpowered every other feeling she could’ve possibly had in that moment. So she closed the gap between them and kissed her.

It was different from the kisses they shared earlier. Granted, the love and desperation was still there, but gone was the anger and all of their frustrations. And for the first time all week, Lena felt like she was finally home.

This time when they broke apart, she was the one to touch Kara’s face as she whispered, “Kara, I…” but she struggled to find any other words even though there were a million things she wanted to say.

“I know,” Kara reassured. “I know. It’s okay.”

Lena shook her head because it wasn’t okay. “I’ve ruined everything.”

“Sweetheart, you haven’t.” Kara paused to kiss her. “What we have will never be ruined. I promise.”

Lena believed her. She believed that no matter how lost she could be, Kara would always be there to guide her. She was her partner in this life. She was her everything.

“Are you sure?”

“There’s nothing else I’m more sure of.”

And with that they were kissing again with more heat and passion. Lena let it all consume her as she was clinging to Kara like her life depended on it. She was clinging to her so much that she didn’t even realize she had somehow made her way onto Kara’s lap during the kiss.

Kara stood and moved them both out of the chair and pressed Lena up against the nearest wall, moving her mouth away from Lena’s lips to her neck.

“Lena?” Kara muttered between kisses.

“Hmm?” Lena answered, barely registering the word.

“Are we—”

“Yes.”

“Right here?”

“Yes.” Lena paused and opened her eyes. “Wait, no.” The last time they had attempted sex against a wall, she ended up with a bruised hip and Kara with a sprained ankle. “Come with me.”

She took Kara’s hand and quickly led her to the bedroom. She shut the door and didn’t bother turning on the light. So when their lips met again in a frenzy, they were knocking into what felt like every single object that could possibly exist in the dark room.

“Mmph!” Kara exclaimed against her mouth when her back hit the corner of the dresser. As she pushed herself off, Lena started to step backwards. “Where’s the bed?”

“I don’t know,” Lena answered. She yelped when she tripped on something on the floor and fell.

“Lena?” The laughter could be heard in Kara’s voice. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” She called out from the floor and held her hand out. “Where are you?”

Kara’s hand found hers instantly and she was pulled back onto her feet. “Right here.”

“Hang on.” Lena held her close and started moving them in a random direction with her hand reaching out in the darkness. Once she found what felt like a lamp, she quickly found the switch to turn it on.

“So much better,” Kara said with a smile once they could actually see each other. She turned her head to locate the bed, but ended up fixated on the massive room. “This is even bigger than the living room!”

Lena smiled at her affectionately with an eye roll. Kara’s moments of pure joy were always infectious. She placed her hand on the back of her neck to gain her attention back and kissed her again.

They resumed where they left off only without the darkness to cause any more confusion or injury. Lena walked Kara backwards until they collapsed onto the bed together and pinned her arms down above her head and continued kissing her.

After several moments, she just had to pause. She pulled back and simply stared at the girl beneath her.

Kara smiled up at her. “What?”

Lena continued to silently study her. Kara was and always would be the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She no longer felt the painful ache in her heart that had been plaguing her for the past several days. All of that disappeared as she looked at her.

“You’re so beautiful,” she said softly.

Kara’s expression became more serious as they stared at one another. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too. God… I’ve missed you so much.” She couldn’t hold back. She needed to have Kara.

Soon after their lips met, their clothes were frantically shed. With every desperate kiss and every longing touch, the flame that was their passion was growing more and more. Being together like this was always heaven on earth for Lena. She knew in her heart that no one else could ever make her feel this way.

After several rounds of love-making and losing count of how many times they both came, Lena wasn’t sure if it was the overwhelming intensity of it all or just her mental and physical exhaustion taking over—maybe all of the above—but she began to cry.

Kara was quick to pull her in her arms and just hold her as the tears fell.

“I love you,” Lena cried. “And I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Kara.”

“It’s okay,” Kara said as she held her close and stroked her hair.

“It’s not,” Lena argued. “I should never have hurt you like that. That wasn’t fair to you and I’m so sorry.”

“Lena—”

“I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

“It’s okay, my love. Breathe… just breathe.” She continuously ran her fingers through Lena’s hair to calm her down like she had always done before. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”

She whispered it over and over until Lena finally stopped crying. When she eventually did stop, Lena adjusted to press her head against Kara’s bare chest. “I love you,” she said again. “I’ll always love you.”

“I love you too,” Kara answered. “And whatever you go through, or what I go through, we’re in it together. You’ll never have to be alone again.”

Lena clutched her tighter. “Because I’ll always have you.”

“And I’ll always have you.” Kara kissed the top of her head with a yawn. “Let’s get some sleep.”

“I love you,” Lena said one more time as she drifted off.

* * *

Hours later, probably due to her internal alarm clock, Lena began to wake and slowly opened her eyes to morning light seeping its way into the room. She blinked a few times before she realized that she was still comfortably wrapped in Kara’s arms. She lifted her head to smile at her and just revel in the moment. Kara was still out cold, exhausted from the night before. Lena lightly ran her fingertips along her jawline.

After a few minutes, she twisted around to look at the clock on the nightstand and realized she had to wake up Kara soon.

“Kara,” she said softly as she pushed her hair out of her face, “Kara, wake up.”

“Forty more minutes,” Kara mumbled to Lena’s amusement.

“Sweetheart, don’t you have to work at eight?”

“Maybe.”

“It’s already past seven.”

“I’ll just call in.”

Lena laughed. “I don’t think that’s the best impression you want to make this early on in your career.”

“I guess you’re right.” Kara sighed and lifted her head. She blinked her eyes open and looked at Lena with a smile. “Can I see you again tonight?”

Lena pressed a kiss to her temple. “Of course.”

“Promise?”

“You can see me every night.”

Kara sat up all the way and stretched out her arms. She then stood up from the bed and took Lena’s hand. “Get dressed.”

“I’m guessing you’re kidnapping me again?” Lena said as she was pulled up.

“Of course! Come on!”

They rushed to get dressed and were out the door within minutes. Hand-in-hand, they practically ran back all the way to Kara’s apartment so that she could quickly get ready for work.

Alex and Maggie were sat at the table eating breakfast when they burst in. Lena gave them a quick wave and a smile as she passed by and could’ve sworn she heard Maggie say something about being owed twenty dollars. She made a mental note to inquire about that later.

Skipping the bedroom and going straight for the bathroom, Kara locked the door and released Lena to reach a hand into the shower and turn the water on. They then quickly undressed each other and got in together. As they showered, Lena had to remind Kara several times to keep her hands to herself or else she would be late.

“We still have time,” Kara whined.

“Not nearly enough, darling,” she said with promises that they would continue later.

By some miracle, they finished with just enough time to spare to get Kara dressed for work and back out the door and into the streets of downtown National City. It was a little more crowded out as everyone else seemed to be rushing to get to work.

As they walked to the CatCo. building with their hands still clasped together, the recognizable sound of a faint click caught Lena’s ear. She chanced a glance behind them and was only a little surprised to find a middle-aged, overweight photographer following them from about ten feet back.

“I think I have a crowd this morning,” she murmured to Kara.

“What?” Kara asked with a puzzled look.

“Behind us,” Lena whispered.

Not one to bother with discretion, Kara fully turned her head to see what Lena was talking about. “There’s three guys with cameras taking our picture.”

Lena turned to see that two more had indeed joined the first. One of them was even recording them. “Vultures…”

“Any comment on your brother?” one of the men shouted.

“Is it true that you helped Lex Luthor escape?” another added.

Lena sighed. “Can you all please just fuck off?”

“Is that your official statement?”

Lena threw her hands up in frustration. Kara wrapped an arm around her shoulder and said, “Just ignore them, sweetheart.”

“I’m trying to,” Lena answered. She turned back to them and said, “At least fifteen feet away! That’s the deal!”

They all nodded and slowed down to keep more of a distance. She was surprised she only had to ask once this time.

Kara nudged her. “I love it when you’re bossy.” Lena smirked.

Once they reached the front of CatCo., Kara stopped abruptly and looked at her with worry.

“Are you going to be okay?”

Lena nodded. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have to lay low for a little while longer.” She reached up to lightly grab the lapel of Kara’s coat and pulled her closer. “Are we still on for later?”

“Of course we are!” Kara smiled as she reached into her pocket. She then took Lena’s hand and placed something small in her palm. “And you should probably have this back.”

Lena looked down at the object. “Your spare key? Are you sure?”

“It’s _your_ key,” Kara said as she closed Lena’s hand around it. “It belongs to you.”

With a smile, Lena placed it inside her own pocket and pulled in Kara for a kiss. The sound of multiple cameras going off at once could be heard. She would probably get home in a little while to find pictures of her and Kara’s intimate moment being shared with the entire world, but she didn’t care.

The loneliness and heartbreak from the past week was behind her now. She wasn’t afraid anymore. Gone was all the fear and doubt that she might have harbored before. Kara would always be her home, her light, and her soul mate. And she knew that it was still just the beginning for them.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry it took so long to finally post this story. Started a new job and life got busy and all that jazz. Anyhow, I hope you liked it! There's going to be one more (at least? that I know of?) part to this series that I'm currently working on. I'm sure many of you can guess what the plot will revolve around :)
> 
> Also, here's a link to my [tumblr page](http://timetravelingperson.tumblr.com/) if you want ever want to chat.


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